Barry’s Tea is a family-owned business spanning over 100 years. The longevity of the business is a testament to the high quality teas that are consistently produced from its home in Cork. As always, Barry’s Tea keeps a keen eye on its consumers’ needs. With an increasing demand for smaller pack sizes, Barry’s Tea is proudly launching its new pack of Gold Blend 20s this autumn. This pack is ideal for people who are shopping to a tight budget, but still want a good cup of tea as one of life’s little pleasures. The pack is also very useful for top up shops mid-week, or indeed a handy travel pack to take on holidays or to work. The new 20s pack will be in a unique dispensing unit. This unit is ideal as it saves valuable shelf space at the tea fixture, but it will also allow retailers to duel site the product in the store near complimentary products like cakes, biscuits and magazines. Barry’s Tea is a proud supporter of Love Irish Food and is very much committed to supporting Irish jobs.

Quality and service

Available in almost 4,500 outlets worldwide, Tim Hortons coffee and baked goods are recognisable across the globe. Today, the Tim Hortons concept delivers outstanding service and excellent product quality to over 250 stores in Ireland including Spar, Eurospar and Spar Express. While Tim Hortons is synonymous with smooth, high quality coffee made from 100% Arabica beans, the brand concept is based on complementing excellent coffee with a range of baked goods including donuts, muffins and wrapped confectionery bars. This full-service concept offers retailers an integrated service and extensive cross-selling opportunities in-store while delivering value to customers. The diverse confectionery range is ‘thaw and serve’ meaning maximum product availability and minimum waste. Bringing global experience and expertise to all of its outlets, Cuisine de France supports the Tim Hortons concept in-store with best-in-class equipment, ongoing support and staff training. The Tim Hortons concept is proven to increase hot beverage sales by 20%, delivering results and peace of mind to Irish retailers.

Professional coffee at home

There has been a strong trend towards premiumisation within the coffee category over the last few years. This has been driven primarily by consumers who recognise good quality coffee, gained from a heightened experience visiting their local coffee shops. Nescafé launched its own super premium brand, Nescafé Azera, to capitalise on this. The success has been so great that the brand released three new varieties; Intenso, Latte and Cappuccino earlier this year.

Nescafé has also just introduced a new coffee to the market to address the growing desire from consumers for new coffee experiences. Nescafé Gold Blend Barista Style coffee offers a richer, full-bodied coffee from a brand that the public is familiar with and trusts. This latest addition to the Nescafé Gold Blend range is aimed at shoppers who regularly shop in the premium sector of the coffee category.

Proper coffee in an instant

As Ireland’s number one wholebean instant coffee*, Kenco Millicano has revolutionised the coffee market and is the most sector-defining innovation in Ireland in coffee for over 50 years. The brand leads the wholebean instant category, accounting for 71%** of total category growth over the last year.

Kenco Millicano offers the convenience of instant with the quality and taste reminiscent of roast and ground coffee. Kenco knows that busy lives mean coffee lovers don’t always have time to make ‘proper’ coffee, so Kenco Millicano serves to fill the gap between wanting a roast and ground coffee taste with the convenience of making an instant coffee. Like the rest of the Kenco range, all of the beans for Kenco Millicano are 100% sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms – which means every sip you take helps coffee-growing communities and helps to protect the environment.

Kenco Millicano is available in 100g fully-recyclable tin, an 85g refill pack and a 10 individual portion stick pack. Kenco Millicano is now available in a decaff version: a Millicano Caff Free 100g tin and 85g refill pack. Kenco Millicano recently announced a major fashion collaboration with acclaimed Irish designer Orla Kiely, who has created a limited edition coffee travel mug exclusively for the brand. The ceramic eco mugs – an Irish exclusive – are the stylish way to enjoy coffee on-the-go and bear the distinctive bold print and colours that have made Orla Kiely famous worldwide. The mugs are free with purchase of special RRP eur*10 promotional packs of a 100g Kenco Millicano tin and 85g refill, available in all major retailers nationwide from mid-August while stocks last. The exclusive ‘Orla Kiely for Kenco Millicano’ design collaboration is supported by a heavyweight eur*600,000 fully integrated marketing campaign with PR, advertising, digital, social media, retail and out-of-home promotional activity. For more information check out www.kenco.ie or facebook.com/kencoireland

*(Source: Nielsen MAT 16 June 2013)

**(Source: Nielsen Total Scantrack data w/e 16 June 2013)

Robert Roberts makes its mark

Following on from last year’s host of gold accolades at the 2012 Great Taste Awards, Irish coffee and tea company, Robert Roberts has been awarded four Golds at the Great Taste Awards 2013 for its Colombian Coffee, Java Beans Coffee, Luxury Fairtrade Tea and Espresso Segovia Beans. Highly regarded as the Oscars of the food and beverage industry, the accolades were announced recently, with only three Irish tea and coffee companies listed as being a ‘Great Taste Award’ winner in 2013.

405 judges completed 50 days of judging, which took place from May through to the last week in July and commenced, for the first time, with a week’s judging in Ireland. Renowned for its quality tea and coffee products, this is the fifth consecutive year that Robert Roberts has been recognised by the Great Taste Awards, which are organised by the Guild of Fine Food. Garath Scully, master coffee roaster at Robert Roberts said: “In 2012, our Java Beans Coffee was awarded the highest-possible accolade, which was an amazing achievement for the company and we are thrilled that Robert Roberts has been recognised yet again by the Guild of Fine Food. The awards underpin both the superior quality and consistency of our coffees and teas, which is why we roast four million bags of coffee annually for our thousands of retail and foodservice customers, including Dublin’s newest luxury hotel, The Marker Hotel.”

Shining stars

 Bewley’s has scooped eight Gold Stars at the Great Taste Awards 2013. The retail products recognised for their exceptional quality and taste include Bewley’s Irish Afternoon Tea, Bewley’s Kenya, Gold Roast, Rich Roast, Java and Araku India Coffee. All products were awarded one gold star, while Bewley’s Kenya coffee received two gold stars.

The Great Taste Awards are the most prestigious and trusted of food and drink awards, and the acknowledged benchmark of outstanding quality in the food industry. All products are judged by at least three different judging panels including fine food retailers, chefs, restaurant critics, food writers and other industry experts. All tasting is blind ensuring that the quality of taste, flavour and texture are the only criteria taken into account.

Mark Saunders, general manager, retail and at-home division, Bewley’s, commented: “This is the sixth year in a row that Bewley’s teas and coffees have been awarded Gold Stars by the Guild of Fine Food. We are once again delighted that the quality of our products continues to shine through and we are very proud to be an Irish company, judged by our peers and excelling on the international stage.” Describing the unique characteristics of some of the individual winning products, Saunders said: “Bewley’s Irish Afternoon Tea is a strong and invigorating all day blend of the finest Rwandan, Assam Indian and Kenyan Teas. We are particularly delighted that our Bewley’s Kenya fresh coffee, which is one of our most popular and best-selling coffees with Irish consumers, was awarded the honour of two Gold Stars.”

 Q&A with…

 Vicki Ahern, brand manager, Barry’s Tea

How does Barry’s Tea stand out from its competitors in terms of quality and innovation?

As a family-owned business since 1901, we bring expertise and long standing knowledge to tea buying and blending that is unique. We have a personal commitment and responsibility to consistently deliver quality tea to our customers. Our master blender, Denis Daly, never compromises. He meticulously mixes and tweaks the different blends to get the taste just right for the Irish customer. Our master tea blender is particular in how he buys our teas and where he buys from, maintaining special relationships with tea buyers from quality gardens around the world. Only the finest quality teas from sustainable sources in the Assam Valley of India, Kenya and Rwanda are used.

As always, we keep a keen eye on our consumers’ needs. With an increasing demand for smaller pack sizes, we are proudly launching our new pack of Gold Blend 20s this autumn. This pack is ideal for people who are shopping to a tight budget, but still want a good cup of tea as one of life’s little pleasures. The pack is also very useful for top up shops mid-week, or indeed a handy travel pack to take on holidays or to work.

How important is Barry’s Tea’s Irish identity in promoting and generating sales for the brand?

What makes us special is the fact that we still blend our teas in Cork since the company began in 1901. Our Irish heritage is hugely important to us. We understand that tea drinking is one of Ireland’s most cherished rituals, and the distinctive taste of our teas has earned a reputation by word of mouth. We blend our teas with the Irish palate in mind. As this is something we have been doing for over 100 years, we believe we understand what Irish consumers want when they sit down to enjoy a cup of Barry’s Tea. We have been a proud member of Love Irish Food for the past four years. As an Irish company who blend and manufacture our teas in Cork, we are fully committed to supporting Irish jobs.

Does Barry’s Tea compete on value, especially given the category’s increasing competition from the own-brand sector?

We as a brand are very aware of the financial challenges our consumers face. We promote our product adequately to reward loyalty and encourage trial. We are constantly looking at ways we can innovate and be more relevant to our consumers. Our new Gold Blend 20s pack was designed with the consumer pocket in mind. The price point is low enough for people to still enjoy the same great taste of Barry’s Tea, even if shopping to a budget.

Why do you think Barry’s Tea is special to the Irish consumer?

Because Barry’s Tea has been the tea of choice in many Irish households for over 100 years, we understand the role our tea plays in people’s hectic lives. We believe Barry’s Tea helps consumers appreciate valuable moments. Whether it is a moment of reflection or a moment to remember, the quality of Barry’s Tea always brings a richer tea drinking experience that makes every moment more refreshing, soothing and rewarding.

Q&A with…
Sandra Gahan, head of marketing, beverages, for Mondelez Ireland

What do you believe to be at the core of your brand?

A superior quality product and excellence in innovation is at the heart of the success enjoyed by the market-leading coffee brands I work with, including Kenco and Carte Noire. The coffee category is in strong growth, valued at eur* 46.5 million in value and 1.8 million kilograms in volume. Irish consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their coffee tastes, trading up to premium coffee choices. Category innovation will continue to focus on premiumisation of coffee as this is where the demand is. While Ireland’s coffee market is declining by volume of -5.2%, it has increased by value growth of 1.4%, which signals a real market opportunity for innovators in the market like Kenco Millicano, Kenco’s first wholebean instant to launch in Ireland.

How has your brand innovated in order to meet consumer trends and regenerate interest within your category?

As Kenco’s first wholebean instant, Kenco Millicano has revolutionised the coffee market and is the most sector-defining innovation in coffee for over 50 years. The brand leads the wholebean instant category, accounting for 71% of total category growth over the last year. Demonstrating value-add is also an important influence in the purchasing decision for our target audience. Using this insight, Kenco Millicano recently announced a major fashion collaboration with acclaimed Irish designer Orla Kiely, who has created a limited edition coffee travel mug exclusively for the brand. Partnering with such a successful and world-famous brand like Orla Kiely helps to reinforce Kenco Millicano’s category leadership and the quality, high-end brand values that have seen it lead Ireland’s wholebean instant coffee category.

The mugs are free with purchase of special RRP €10 promotional packs of  a 100g Kenco Millicano tin and 85g refill in all major retailers nationwide, running from mid-August while stocks last. The Irish exclusive design collaboration is supported by a heavyweight and fully integrated marketing campaign with PR, advertising, digital, social media, retail and out-of-home promotional activity. For more information please go to kenco.ie or facebook.com/KencoIreland .

What advice would you offer retailers to help drive sales in your category?

With on-the-go snacking increasing, cross category selling is another huge opportunity for retailers. Research shows that 60% of customers also buy a snack when buying a hot drink. To help drive incremental sales we recommend operators promote hot beverages alongside complementary snacks, adapting the offer depending on the time of day, for example promoting Kenco with a Belvita Breakfast biscuit in the morning.